Tuesday, September 29, 2015

It's time again for a wonderful Guest blogger and this time we have the exciting and prolific Eva Gordon.

I love her paranormal books and if you haven't had a chance to visit with her, you're in for a special treat. Let's learn a little about Eva before we go any further.

From her website...

Eva
Gordon writes genre bending paranormal / fantasy / steampunk and historical novels
with a strong romantic element. She loves to create stories that combine her
passion for mythology, steamy romance, and action/suspense. Her imagination
takes her from one universe to the next. Thus far, she has several series lined
up as well as single titles waiting in line for production.

So know that you know a little more about his amazing author, let's see what Eva has to say!!!

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The Magic of Owls

by Eva Gordon

I
write fantasy/paranormal romance, but spend a great deal of time volunteering
at a raptor center where I’ve had the opportunity to work with hawks, falcons
and owls. I have degrees in Zoology and Biology, and although I write full
time, working with animals has always been an equal passion.

A
decade ago on Halloween, as you walked down the streets and to the storefronts,
you would see a decorative owl or two. However of late, I see owls everywhere:
on mugs, pillows, cards, and even on clothing. You can’t blame all the owl hype
on Harry Potter or can you?

Throughout
our history and across many cultures, people have had a great fascination with
owls. You can spend days, reading about global owl myths and lore. The owl can
evoke a series of emotions, from fear to admiration. Owls are associated with
witchcraft and therefore a favorite Halloween decoration. In Romania, vampires
were known as Strigoli, from the Roman word, strix, which referred to the
screech owl. Strega, which is Italian for witch is also derived from the
word, strix. They are also associated with medicine, birth, death, the weather,
and wisdom.

According
to Paul Johnsgard (North American Owls: Biology and Natural History,
Smithsonian Institution Press), Mesopotamian tablets from 2,300 B.C. depict the
goddess Lilith as "winged, bird-footed, and typically accompanied by
owls," a significant association because Lilith was Sumeria's goddess of
death. Pallas Athene--Greek goddess of fertility and power--was also affiliated
with the owl, possibly "because of the nocturnal (and especially the
lunar) . . . associations between female fertility goddesses and the cycles of
the moon."

To the ancient Romans, to hear the
hoot of an Owl presaged imminent death. The deaths of Julius Caesar, Augustus,
Commodus Aurelius, and Agrippa were apparently all predicted by an Owl.

"...yesterday, the bird of
night did sit Even at noonday, upon the market place, Hooting and shrieking"
(from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar")

Fortunately, for me and other owl
enthusiasts, owl hooting has not presaged our deaths. Though stumbling over a
log in the dark, while listening to hooting can cause injury.

So why has the owl earned a special place in our lore? Allow
me to muse.

For one thing, owls are crepuscular, which
means they come out at the most mysterious time of the day, twilight. The sun
is setting, darkness rises and these nocturnal creatures become vocal and
active. Man’s fear of the dark, or night has added to the fear of the
owl as a harbinger of death.

Owls look so darn human. This is due to the position of their huge eyes.
Unlike most birds whose eyes are on the sides of their heads, the owl’s eyes
look ahead as our do, and they have to rotate their heads to see all round
them, again, as man does, but owls are a bit better at it, their heads can
swivel nearly 180 degrees to each side, adding up to nearly 360 degrees. A
pretty freaky thing to see.

Education Barn Owl Eastern Grey Screech Owl in Box

Here are some reasons why owls appear supernatural.

They swoop in silently because of downy feathers. Without a warning the
owl’s powerful talons silently crushes the mouse.Fan an owl’s feather compared to another
bird’s feather to hear the difference.

Owls have amazing night vision and can see in almost complete darkness.

Their hearing is also superior and they can pinpoint a mouse’s footsteps
despite other ambient sounds. At a raptor center, there was one barn owl that
was nervous around a handler. It detected that she had a heart murmur.

They have a ravenous (sorry ravens) appetite. Researchers found that one
barn owl family can consume 3,000 voles/year. Owls are our best ally in eating
rodent pests. The owl regurgitates undigested bones and fur called owl pellets
or castings. Finding such pellets might have inspired ancient people to
associate owls with death.

Other reasons why owls contributed to eerie legends:

Often owl vocalizations and screeching cans sound very human and even evil.
The legend of the Banshee stems from the scream of a barn owl. Trust me, the
sound makes your bones shiver.

Seeing a white owl at night might have been one of the reasons the lore of
white ghosts evolved. Even recently, mystery lights can possibly be blamed on
owls. Or what about those aliens we call the greys with their owlish faces and
huge black barn owl like eyes?

Author
with Eastern Grey Screech Owl (look hard to see it)

When not working with animals, I write genre bending paranormal/fantasy novels
with a strong romantic element. Alpha heroes and brilliant feisty heroines. HEA
with a kick. Erotic paranormal romance to steampunk to epic fantasy. I love to
create stories that combine my passion for mythology, romance, and werewolf or
animal lore. I like to get my heart rate up so my stories have plenty of
adventure, suspense and really bad guys/gals. Escape into my worlds, if you
like fantastical worlds, steamy romance and page turning suspense.

Epic Fantasy. Just Released. The Stone of the Tenth Realm,
the story of a young woman who escapes a Nazi concentration camp and stumbles
into a parallel world.#fantasy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5YQ6U2

The
Alpha Wolf’s Pet Collection includes the entire trilogy. Each book is a
different stage in the romantic relationship between alpha werewolf, Dominic
and Mia, his human lover. The danger they face and a twist to the werewolf
story. Paranormal steamy romance and page turning suspense.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014Q9LP18

What a GREAT post! I love raptors and one of my totems is the hawk, so this blog was of particular interest to me. And I loved getting to know Eva a little bit more. If you want to know even MORE about her, see the links below: